New York Beauty

Had a chance to do a little blog hopping this afternoon, haven't been able to do this for ages. I found some pretty cool things on you tube, how to make fabric bowls and coasters using piping cord, canadian smocking which looks really cool and a wierd thing on how to fold yoghurt lids to make a table centre. Don't think I'll try the last one but the other two might be worth a go. I also found a quilt along for New York Beauty Blocks, I've always wanted to try this pattern but it's a bit scary, so I'm going to try the first block and see how I go, see no commitment yet. However there is a few projects that I should get finished first, two new notebook covers that still have no pattern written yet, a half finished shop sample and still to make this months christmas angel gift, but I have finished all my homework for the course I started 3 weeks ago (cert 3 in childrens services) and there is a long weekend looming ahead. I've added the New York Beauty button to my sidebar, have a look and let me know if you plan to give it a go.

Finished...at last

Thought I'd forgotten about this quilt? Well the binding took a little longer than expected. However one wet Saturday arvo later and it's finished.

I love how the colours turned out, a little brighter than my usual choices. The pattern is from Chasing Cottons and although I love the pattern I was disappointed to see it released in a patchwork mag just weeks after I had bought it from their site. Their other pattern I also love came out in the very next issue I'm just glad I didn't purchase that one too. Thats my whinge for the week, but I'm really happy with the way it turned out as I haven't done a lot of curved piecing and the pattern was easy to follow.
Cheers
Michelle

Puffing Billy

If you're visiting the Dandenongs you've got to see Puffing Billy. We took the family on the weekend and all had a great day! Also if you're up visiting Karen at Mrs martins duck down the hill to Emerald lake, the train leaves there daily at 2.30 just enough time to take Tulley to see the train and make it home to pick up the rest of the family from school! Perfect.

Cheers
Michelle

Short?

Yes I am! But so is my daughter and her friends so of late the only sewing done around here was taking up school pants....9 pairs! These pants seem to be designed to have a waist of a plastic sparrow and still be 5'9"!

Hope they don't notice they're hemmed with varigated blue and grey quilting cotton, it's the only grey I had. Ooops Cheers
Michelle

and one little tomato

Ok round here it doesn't seem it's going to be a good season for tomatoes, I prepared early, bought some nice seedlings, which I didn't let die by the back door. Put them in and kept them weeded and watered and them we had lots of wet and cold weather and them lots of humid weather and then a big long dry patch I really don't think they know what season it is anymore. I have half ofthem looking like they are nearly dead and the rest thriving but not many tomatoes either way.
Here's what I picked today.

Two large gold zuchinni, a bunch of cellery,spring onions and....one little pink pearl tomato! The chooks are laying really well at the moment so I'll be making some more zuchinni slice, yum. Looks like I'll have to wait a while longer to make the tomato sauce.
Hope your tomatoes are doing better than mine.

Cheers
Michelle

Giant Mandarine Anyone?

I wanted to make some floor cushions, so after looking online at some pics I thought I'll just make up a pattern and see how we go. They turned out great, but twice as big as I imagined! They are huge and the orange one looks just like a giant mandarine.

So then I made a smaller version with the left overs

a much better size, this one doesn't take up all of the lounge room. Then because I didn't want to keep the offcuts I made a new heat pack and that was about all the scraps used up!
and just to show I am continuing with my New Years resolution here's curlique on the quilting frame!

I actually feel like I'm getting somewhere!

...and a Happy New Year

Well there was a longer than epected gap between the last two posts but I'm here now and I have an update on the UFO list, nothing too earth shattering but, I have one quilt top from the list put together and it's backing has been bought, washed and is hanging on the line as I write! I hope to get it on the quilting frame tonight.

This is Curlique and I started it back around October to practice my curved piecing and I got about half way through it and had to start some samples for patterns and never got back to it. Funny thing was I had it all out on the floor ready to piece in odd moments when I had some spare time and Dustin my lovely robot vacuum was on in Jordan's room up the other end of the house, with the door shut and he escaped and ran right through the middle of all the pieces! I had to rescue some from inside the vac and some he'd managed to get wedged in the brushes and lay it all out again. I had it nearly all  laid out but I couldn't get the last row to fit, for three hours I puzzled and moved and tried every combination, gave up and went to hang out the washing, figuring I'd just make it smaller and chuck the extra bits, when it suddenly hit me that I laid it on the floor because all the edges kept falling off the table..... at both ends. I had been trying to fit the last row to the wrong end Duh! Funny how quick it was to slot them all into place after that, and then I took a photo in case it happened again. By the way this pattern is by Rebecca from Chasing Cottons and is out in the latest Aust.Patchwork and Quilting.

Hope your UFO's aren't getting swallowed!